Excellent first year for Dixons Carphone

The British electronics group Dixons Carphone has generated 6 % more turnover and 21 % more profit in the past fiscal year, which is its first fiscal year following the Carphone Warehouse - Dixons merger.

Profit up 21 %

The merger group's first fiscal year, which ended on 2 May, resulted in a 9.9 billion pound (14.2 billion euro) turnover, up 6 % compared to the combined turnover of both merger partners. Gross profit even grew 21 % to 381 million pounds (550 million euro).

The merger group took advantage of increased demand for HD televisions and smart electronics. On top of that, the UK collapse of its competitor Phones4U and the Greek panic purchases of consumers who wanted to get value for their money have also helped to boost its turnover. The Greek branch was profitable, although the board admits the "situation remains challenging".

Withdrawn from Benelux

In the United Kingdom, Dixons Carphone is active with its Carphone Warehouse, Currys and PC World chains, while it manages the Elkjop and El Giganten chains in Scandinavia and the Kotsovolos chain in Greece. It also has brands like Phone House and Geek Squad in its portfolio, with more than 3,000 points of sale all across the world.

However, it is no longer active in the Benelux: it sold its majority stake in the Dutch branch of The Phone House to Relevant Holdings in June. That company also owns telecom retailer Optie1. It had already long since left Belgium.

Ceconomy will create uniformity between Media Markt and Saturn’s online and offline pricing. This will be possible thanks to the digital price tags it now uses in the stores, because there can be altered in real-time.

There has been yet another thorough shake-up among Fnac Darty’s shareholders. The merger company, which owns Belgian electronics chain Vanden Borre and Dutch retailer BCC, will now welcome insurance company SFAM, after it bought investment fund Knight Vinke’s shares.